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The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in North Carolina continued to rise from 2,646 Sunday to 2,900 Monday. There have been 43 deaths in the state attributed to the virus and 270 hospitalizations.

In Beaufort County, there were 10 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday. Six of the 10 confirmed cases have recovered from COVID-19. Four cases remain active, three of which are hospitalized, according to the Monday update from Beaufort County’s Office of Emergency Services.

The number of confirmed cases in the U.S. rose from 331,151 Sunday to 356,942 on Monday; these numbers include the 18,999 people in the U.S. known to have recovered from COVID-19. The U.S. has the greatest number of cases worldwide, and there are likely many more cases as those exhibiting symptoms are now being encouraged to stay home rather than get tested. Nationwide, 10,524 deaths have been attributed to the virus, an increase of 1,083 overnight. Five percent of all active cases are considered serious, requiring hospitalization, down from 19% in February; 11% of all U.S. cases have been considered serious, requiring hospitalization.

North Carolina has confirmed cases in 92 counties.

Of Beaufort County’s total of 10 cases, contact tracing of these known, confirmed cases has concluded:

• one case has been contributed to direct contact with a known patient from another county;
• two cases were related to travel to a known outbreak area;
• seven cases are attributed to community spread.

All active cases are self-isolating, the update reads.

Eastern North Carolina counties with current cases include: Bertie (7), Beaufort (10), Bladen (1), Brunswick (24), Carteret (25), Camden (1), Chowan (1), Columbus (9), Craven (18), Currituck (2); Dare (6), Duplin (5), Edgecombe (5), Gates (1), Greene (8), Halifax (10), Hertford (4), Lenoir (8), Martin (3), New Hanover (47), Northampton (46), Onslow (21), Pamlico (3), Pasquotank (8), Pender (2), Perquimans (2), Pitt (36), Sampson (5), Washington (4), Wayne (15) and Wilson (29). Durham (191), Mecklenburg (733) and Wake (308) counties have the most cases in North Carolina.

As of Monday, there have been 120 tests completed in Beaufort County, with 105 negatives, eight positives and seven pending. These are cumulative numbers and include tests performed at the Health Department and reporting private medical facilities throughout the county. Two of Beaufort County’s positive cases were tested in other counties, according to the Monday night update from Chris Newkirk, deputy director of Beaufort County Emergency Services.

Cases of COVID-19 are now projected to peak on April 13.

“Since activating our EOC, staff members have been evaluating case statistics and mitigation efforts in an attempt to model what impacts we could expect locally. We will be sharing those findings this week, as we discuss what we anticipate specifically in Beaufort County. This information will include total number of cases, hospitalizations, potential deaths and rates as it pertains to various age groups. We will also be including information related to the utilization of masks, as we hope to provide clarity to the changing topic of who should wear a mask, when and what type of mask should be used,” the update reads.